S07.17: The Proposition by Judith Ivory

S07.17: The Proposition by Judith Ivory

Author: Fated Mates January 7, 2025 Duration: 1:44:06

Happy New Year, Magnificent Firebirds! We don’t know what 2025 is going to bring, so we’re starting with a bang—the long awaited deep-dive of Judith Ivory's The Proposition, featuring that rakish rat catcher, that ferret-loving firebrand, the man himself, Mr. Mick Tremore! We’re talking sexual tension so overwhelming it makes a girl cry, horse-faced ladies who bring men to their knees, kissing on omnibuses and legs! All that, and Sarah and Jen disagree heartily on the issue of mustaches, but agree heartily that lionhearted virility is the energy we want this year. 

Get the book at your local independent bookseller, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or Amazon.

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The Notes


The Sponsors



Co-hosted by bestselling author Sarah MacLean and critic Jen Prokop, Fated Mates-Romance Books for Novel People digs into the genre with a blend of scholarly enthusiasm and pure fandom. This isn't just a book club; it's a deep, weekly examination of why romance novels work, how they mirror and challenge our world, and why they are often dismissed despite their massive cultural impact. The conversation is always grounded in the text itself, often through structured read-alongs of seminal works, where Sarah and Jen unpack character motivations, tropes, and narrative structure with the detail they deserve. You'll hear lively discussions that treat the genre seriously-analyzing its function as a subversive force and a powerful tool against patriarchal norms-while never losing the joy and sheer fun of a good love story. The tone is inclusive, insightful, and famously without kink-shaming, creating a space where appreciation and critical analysis coexist. Tune into this podcast for a dialogue that celebrates complexity, champions the reader's experience, and consistently argues for the intellectual and emotional heft of romance fiction.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Fated Mates - Romance Books for Novel People
Podcast Episodes
S07.42: Jen & Sarah and These Summer Storms [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01:44
Last night’s Fated Mates Live was so much fun, but now we’re back in your earholes. It’s time again for our annual Sarah MacLean deep dive (with no spoilers!). As per tradition, Jen asks Sarah a bunch of fun questions an…
S07.41: Audiobooks with Julia Whelan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:18:10
We're thrilled to have audiobook queen and Voice of the Summer (USA Today), Julia Whelan with us today! Aside from being the voice of Emily Henry, Taylor Jenkins Reid, VE Schwab and Kristen Hannah, she's also an author o…
S07.40: Hot 2025 Summer Reads [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:59:36
We're both staying very still in front of air conditioners this week, so that means we're very very happy to have a pile of summer reads at the ready! We're teeing up your piles of summer reads this week with our quarter…
S07.39: Dysfunctional Families (The Fun Kind) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:27
This week, we're talking about romance's most common family: the dysfunctional one! Sarah wrote a book about one, so we're thinking about what makes them special to romance, and what sets the romantic dysfunctional famil…
S07.38: Second Chance Romance Redux [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:39:09
We're taking a second run at second chance romance this week, and while we intended to recommend a million books, we ended up talking about all the ways this trope really works and really doesn't work for us! We're talki…
S07.37: Run Posy Run by Cate C. Wells [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:42:26
Another deep dive episode, and this one feels like it shouldn't have taken so long! We're reading Run Posy Run, talking about the way Cate C. Wells walks a fine line of mafia romance while keeping the book on the moralit…
S07.36: Celebrity + Normie Romance [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:56:20
Sarah is over the moon that we're talking about celebrities again, especially because we're keeping it tight this time around and limiting it to celebrity/normal person romance (mostly -- Jen is ungovernable)! Yes, Sarah…
S07.35: On the Shelf with Spinsters and Wallflowers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:10
One of the og romance tropes is on the table today -- we're talking about heroines who are on the shelf! It's not quite wallflowers, not quite ruined, not quite spinsters...it's a very particular flavor of unmarried woma…
S07.34: The Third Act Break-Up (Complimentary) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:28:12
We're gonna get people excited with this one (it's us. we're the ones who are getting excited). Back by popular demand, we're talking craft this week--digging deep into the third-act breakup, what it really means, why it…
S07.33: Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:34:10
Today we're headed back in the time machine to before the pandemic when everyone but us read this one m/m hockey book and lost their collective minds! Heated Rivalry is one of those books that romance lovers place high u…